Citi Double Cash
Readers who want one flat-rate no-fee cashback card and aren't interested in tracking categories. The 2% (1% at purchase + 1% at payment) is the cleanest math in the cashback space.
89 / 100
Solid pick
Citi Credit Cards
Citi Double Cash is canon-tier flat 2% cashback. The rest of the lineup has lost ground vs Chase/Amex post-2025 ThankYou transfer-partner reduction.
Citi Custom Cash
Closed to new applicants — Citi stopped taking Custom Cash applications on 2026-05-28. Existing cardholders deciding whether to keep it: moderate spenders who concentrate buying in one category each month — groceries, gas, dining, or streaming — and want an automatic 5% without activating anything.
85 / 100
Solid pick
Citi Strata
Citi ThankYou Points builders who want a broad 3X earn across supermarkets, select transit and gas/EV charging, and a self-select category (fitness, streaming, entertainment, beauty, or pet stores) plus 2X dining — all at a $0 annual fee. It's the July-2025 successor to the Citi Rewards+.
84 / 100
Solid pick
Citi Strata Premier
Frequent travelers who route bookings through Citi's travel portal (cititravel.com) for the 10x rate, and who spend heavily across the broad 3x buckets — restaurants, supermarkets, gas/EV charging, air travel, and hotels booked directly. ThankYou Points transfer to airline and hotel partners.
81 / 100
Solid pick
Costco Anywhere Visa by Citi
Costco members who drive a lot — 5% cash back on gas at Costco, 4% on other gas and EV charging worldwide (combined $7,000/yr cap, then 1%), plus 3% on restaurants and eligible travel and 2% at Costco. There's no card-level annual fee if you're already a member.
81 / 100
Solid pick
Citi Rewards+ Student Card
Existing Rewards+ Student cardholders keeping the card for the round-up feature that rounds every purchase up to the nearest 10 ThankYou Points, plus 2X at supermarkets and gas (up to $6,000/yr, then 1X). Citi closed Rewards+ Student to new applicants in April 2025, so this review exists for current holders and this-card-vs-that comparisons — nobody can newly apply for it today.
80 / 100
Solid pick
Citi Simplicity
Balance payers who want a long 0% intro window (18 months on both purchases and balance transfers) with a genuine safety net — Citi Simplicity charges no late fees and imposes no penalty APR, so a single missed payment won't void your promotional rate.
77 / 100
Worth considering
Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard
American Airlines loyalists who want a free first checked bag (for the cardholder and up to four companions on the same itinerary), preferred boarding, and 2x miles on American, dining, and gas — at a $99 annual fee that's waived the first year.
76 / 100
Worth considering
Citi Secured Mastercard
Thin-file or rebuilding applicants who want to build credit over an 18-month runway with a major-bank issuer, at a $0 annual fee — with a path to a product change to an unsecured Citi card and a returned deposit at the 18-month mark.
73 / 100
Worth considering
Citi Diamond Preferred
Balance payers consolidating existing high-rate card debt who want a long intro 0% balance-transfer window from a major issuer, with no annual fee and no rotating-category management to track.
72 / 100
Worth considering
Scored against our published methodology. See methodology and disclosure.